Multi stakeholder decision making systems approach and cases

Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 9294hc_9789814619738_tp.indd 17/12/15 12:03 PM b2530   International Strategic Relations and China’s National Security: World at the Crossroads This page intentionally left blank b2530_FM.indd 01-Sep-16 11:03:06 AM Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Kambiz Maani Massey University, New Zealand World Scientific NEW JERSEY • LONDON 9294hc_9789814619738_tp.indd • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNAI • TOKYO 17/12/15 12:03 PM Published by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Maani, Kambiz E., author Title: Multi-stakeholder decision making for complex problems : a systems thinking approach with cases / Kambiz Maani Description: New Jersey : World Scientific, [2016] Identifiers: LCCN 2015048901 | ISBN 9789814619738 Subjects: LCSH: Decision making | System analysis | Problem solving Classification: LCC HD30.23 M25 2016 | DDC 658.4/032 dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015048901 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2017 by World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd All rights reserved This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher Desk Editor: Shreya Gopi Typeset by Stallion Press Email: enquiries@stallionpress.com Printed in Singapore Shreya - Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems.indd 10-10-16 3:44:59 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases To my father, Misagh, a great teacher who taught us the love of learning b2493_FM.indd 11/4/2016 4:50:41 PM b2530   International Strategic Relations and China’s National Security: World at the Crossroads This page intentionally left blank b2530_FM.indd 01-Sep-16 11:03:06 AM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Contents Prefacexv Part 1  Concepts and Methods Chapter 1  An Introduction to Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making 1.1 Introduction 1.2  Why Decisions Fail 1.3  Wicked, Messy Problems 1.4  Pitfalls in Decision Making 1.5  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making (MSDM) 3 13 Chapter 2  Systems Thinking 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Knowledge versus Understanding 2.3 Systems versus Reductionist Approach 2.4 Systems Thinking and Strategic Planning 15 15 16 18 19 Chapter 3  The Language of Systems Thinking 3.1 Relationships 3.2 Causal Loop Mapping 25 25 27 vii b2493_FM.indd 11/5/2016 9:01:23 AM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases viii  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems 3.3 How to Identify Variables 29 3.3.1 Tips for selecting variable names 30 3.4 Constructing a Causal Loop Diagram 31 3.4.1 Clustering variables 31 3.4.2 Adding bells and whistles 32 3.4.3 Link polarity 33 3.4.4 Exercises 34 3.4.5 An extended example: The dynamics of city growth 36 3.5 Feedback Loops 37 3.5.1 Reinforcing feedback 38 3.5.2 Balancing feedback 38 3.5.3 How to identify loop type 39 3.5.3.1 A shortcut method 40 3.5.3.2 Exercise 40 3.6 Generic Systems Models (Archetypes) 40 3.6.1 Limit to growth 41 3.6.2 Quick fix syndrome 42 3.6.2.1 Mini-case: Good business — bad habits44 3.6.2.2 Mini-case: TMP 46 3.7 Leverage Points 49 3.8 Systems Delays 52 3.9 Behavior Over Time (BOT) Graphs 53 3.9.1 The demise of Easter Island 54 3.9.2 Mini-case exercise: A vicious circle of job losses 56 Chapter 4  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making 4.1 Group Decision Making 4.1.1 Decision making as learning 4.1.2 Group decision making values 4.2 The Multi-Stakeholder Decision-Making Process 4.2.1 Before starting — Select the participants b2493_FM.indd 59 59 59 60 61 61 11/4/2016 4:50:42 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Contents  ix 4.2.2 Step 1: Understanding and framing the problem61 4.2.2.1 Articulating a rich question 62 4.2.2.2 Identifying problem drivers 63 4.2.3 Step 2: Systems mapping/modeling 64 4.2.4 Step 3: Identify key leverage points 67 4.2.5 Step 4: Intervention strategies 68 4.3 Learning Lab for Organizational Cohesion 71 4.4 Mini-case: Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making (MSDM)73 4.5 Conclusion 75 Part 2  Cases77 Case 1A  Resolving Conflict in a Supply Chain 79   Scenario One: Why Out-of-Stock Solution Failed? 81   Mental Models (The Why) 82   Follow-Up Study 84   Conclusion86 Case 1B  The Dark Side of Product Variety   Reflections and Conclusions    Group Dynamics and Organizational Learning 89 91 91 Case 2  The Pitfalls of Rapid Growth   Rapid Growth, Unexpected Consequences   Causal Loops   Mental Models 93 93 94 98 Case 3  Turning Conflict into Consensus 101   The Approach 101   Identification of Issues 102   Identifying Key Priorities 103   Priority Selection 104   Priorities as System 107   Conclusion108 b2493_FM.indd 11/4/2016 4:50:42 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases x  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems Case 4  Causes of Oversupply of Commercial Property — the Case of Singapore   Oversupply Dynamics   Patterns of Behavior (BoT)   Causal Loops   Effect of Delay    Mental Models   Summary  109 110 110 111 112 113 116 Case 5  The Blind Spots of Increased Factory Capacity   The Challenge   Key Variables   Behavior Over Time (BOT) Graphs   Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs)   Leverage Point   Mental Model 119 120 120 121 122 123 124 Case 6  Dynamics of Worldwide Fisheries Decline 127   Purpose of the Study 128   Key Variables 128   Behavior Over Time (BoT) for Key Variables 130   Causal Loop Diagrams and Key Loops 134   Summary and Conclusions 141   References143 Case 7  Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project   The Siem Reap Project   The Learning Lab Process   Siem Reap Community Workshop — Identifying Issues    Systems Thinking Training — Building Skills and Capacity    Systems Workshops — Finding Leverage Areas  b2493_FM.indd 10 147 148 149 151 154 155 11/4/2016 4:50:42 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  149 The Biosphere Learning Lab Process Kambiz Maani Projects Workshop Systems Planning Workshop Implement Action Plants Identify Projects/ Action Plants Create Master Plan (priorities, resources, funding) Reflection Meetings New Levels of Learning and Performance Identify Issues The Learning Cycle Build Capacity Community Workshop Systems Thinking Training Develop Systems Maps of Biosphere Issues Identify Leverage Areas Biosphere Systems Workshop The arrows connecting Step denote the start of a new cycle However, not all steps need to be covered in future cycles Figure 38.    The Learning Lab Process UNESCO biosphere project in Hai Long Bay in Vietnam.3 The Biosphere Learning Lab model is shown in Figure 38 The Learning Lab Process The application of the Learning Lab (LLab)4 for sustainability follows a cyclical process for integrating cross-sectorial decision making, planning, and collaboration in dealing with complex multi-stakeholder integrated decision making and planning The LLab comprises seven steps, explained below, whereby decision makers and stakeholders come together to develop a shared understanding of complex issues and create innovative and sustainable solutions These steps can be customised for different projects and may take place in different sequences  Community Workshop Purpose: to identify key issues, problems, and challenges (e.g., social, economic, environmental, governance, leadership) 3  Nguyen, N., Bosch, O Maani, K., (2011) “Creating ‘learning laboratories’ for sustainable development in biospheres: A systems thinking approach”, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 28, 51–62 4  Maani K and Cavana R (2007) Systems Thinking System Dynamics — Managing Change and Complexity, Pearson Education, Prentice Hall, 2nd edition b2493_Case 7.indd 149 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 150  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems Participants: key decision makers and representatives from stakeholder groups including NGOs and the local community Systems Thinking Training Purpose: to build Systems Thinking knowledge and skills for key decision makers in order to become directly involved in the next steps Participants: representative biosphere officials, policy makers, scientists, etc Systems Workshop Purposes: · to verify and validate the biosphere systems map/model · to understand systemic issues and their interdependencies, and the role and responsibility of each stakeholder group · to discuss and understand the implications for coordinated actions, strategy, and policy · to identify key leverage areas for systemic interventions/change (based on the systems models) Participants: key decision makers and representatives from stakeholder groups including the local community Planning Workshop Purpose: to develop a Systemic Master Plan including priorities, funding, and provision of resources The Systemic Master Plan will integrate with and supplement existing plans Participants: relevant decision makers including selected biosphere officials and representatives from government ministries, the private sector, NGOs, and donor organizations Projects/Funder Workshop Purpose: to identify key projects based on leverage areas, and to design implementation plans This step also includes a donor’s workshop to seek financial assistance from potential local and international donors Participants: selected biosphere officials, technical officers, scientists, and representatives from affected stakeholders, NGOs, and donor ­organizations b2493_Case 7.indd 150 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  151 Implementation Purpose: to implement projects, programs, and experiments It is important to view this step as a “learning exercise” in which relevant NGOs and stakeholders participate in action steps stemming from their respective plans/strategies As such, both success and failure become sources of learning and not a cause for blame or despair Participants: relevant NGOs, scientists, donor representatives, and stakeholders Reflection Meetings Purpose: to monitor progress, identify drivers/causes of success and failure, and identify emerging issues and learning outcomes This step represents the core of the learning cycle and as such it is important that reflection meetings are held as often as possible, typically every three to six months Participants: key decision makers and representatives from stakeholder groups including the local community Further Learning Cycles Not all steps of the LLab process need to be repeated in future cycles As decision makers and the community become engaged in further cycles of learning, the benefits of the Learning Lab will grow and multiply This will steadily enlarge the circle of influence of those engaged in this participatory decision-making process to the point where learning becomes institutionalized in the course of the project As new stakeholders could join at different stages of the Learning Lab, it may be necessary to repeat the Systems Thinking workshop to build necessary skills and a common language for the participants Siem Reap Community Workshop — Identifying Issues The first workshop of the Siem Reap LLab was conducted in Siem Reap in May 2009 The purpose of this “community” workshop was to identify key issues that the Ministry was grappling with in relation to sustainable tourism Over 65 participants from the Ministry of Tourism and various relevant departments and organizations in Cambodia attended the workshop Other senior participants included the Governor of Siem Reap, the b2493_Case 7.indd 151 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 152  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems Secretary of State of Tourism, and two senior UNESCO officials The Minister himself presided over the workshop with facilitation provided by the UQ researchers The participants were organized into eight groups with six to eight delegates in each group The workshop process followed these steps: Individual reflection and writing on Post-it notes Affinity groupings of Post-it notes Summary labels for affinity groups Behavior over time charts for key variables Synthesis and debrief Community Workshop Questions Two questions were posed to the participants during the full-day workshop Q1: What are the barriers/challenges for sustainable tourism for Cambodia? The delegates responded to this question individually using the silent brainstorming process with sticky notes This was followed by sharing of issues by each group and open discussion and exchange amongst the participants This process generated 40 issues which, after combining and removing the duplicates, were reduced to 25 distinct issues as shown in Table Table 3.    Barriers/challenges for sustainable tourism for Cambodia  1 Lack of rules and regulations (3 times — mentioned by groups)  2 Lack of law enforcement (3 times)  3 Lack of developed infrastructure (3 times)  4 Lack of coordination (3 times)  5 Lack of capacity building (3 times)  6 Low level of education (2 times)  7 Poverty (2 times)  8 Safety and security (2 times)  9 Sanitation (2 times) 10 Lack of public awareness (2 times) 11 Lack of tourism facilities (2 times) (Continued ) b2493_Case 7.indd 152 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  153 Table 3.   (Continued) 12 Pollution (2 times) 13 Corruption 14 Cultural impact (bad influence of tourism) 15 Lack of understanding of tourism development 16 Waste management 17 Quality services 18 Lack of integrated planning 19 Lack of local community participation and benefit sharing 20 Lack of sustainable indicators 21 Lack of master plan and policies 22 Economic crisis 23 Lack of environmental protection 24 Social and political issues 25 Lack of urban planning and implementation It is apparent that the above challenges are not independent or isolated To demonstrate the complexity and interconnections of these barriers, an initial Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) was constructed and is shown in Appendix The second workshop question was formulated as: Q2: What are the drivers/factors that affect sustainable tourism for Cambodia? A process similar to the one used for Question was followed by the participants, to respond to the second question This resulted in 29 net factors as shown in Table Table 4.    Drivers/factors affecting sustainable tourism for Cambodia  1 Infrastructure development (4 times)  2 Increase public awareness (3 times)  3 Political stability (3 times)  4 Government policies (3 times) (Continued ) b2493_Case 7.indd 153 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 154  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems Table 4.   (Continued)  5 Set up and implement policies and master plan (2 times)  6 Protection of the environment and sanitation (2 times)  7 Sharing experience and information in seminars and workshops  8 Conservation of natural resources and promotion of local culture  9 Honesty and reasonable prices 10 Sharing tourism income for all 11 International relationships 12 Service quality 13 Encouragement to use local products 14 Equal share of tourism benefits among stakeholders 15 CPP products (conservation, protection, preservation) 16 New products and destinations 17 Increase waste management 18 Security and safety 19 Eco tourism 20 Responsibility of institutions 21 Education (at all levels) 22 Building capacity 23 Broadcast and educate people about eco and sustainable tourism 24 Preserve and develop sustainable tourism with all stakeholders 25 Motivations from government for foreign investors 26 Conservation and development 27 Management 28 Funding 29 Clear understanding of the main barriers Systems Thinking Training — Building Skills and Capacity Following the community workshop in Siem Reap, a delegation of 14 managers and staff from the Ministry of Tourism were sent to the University of Queensland in Brisbane for a month-long course of intensive training during October and November 2009 The core component of the training was learning the Systems Thinking concepts and model building skills for group decision making During this training, using the expert b2493_Case 7.indd 154 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  155 knowledge of the participants, a formal CLD was constructed that embraced the multi-faceted nature of sustainable tourism in the context of Cambodia, as shown in Figure 39 As can be seen, the CLD model integrates a complex web of relationships connecting social, economic, governance/political, and environmental domains Four reinforcing vicious cycles (R1 to R4) and one balancing loop (B) are identified in the model (to avoid clutter, link polarities are not shown) In initial discussions, the expert participants unanimously agreed that the potential leverage areas lie in the reinforcing loop R4, showing the insidious links between lack of education, lack of community participation, and poverty Yet a final decision on the leverage areas was left to the next workshop when a greater cross-section of stakeholders was going to be present Systems Workshops — Finding Leverage Areas The next step of the LLab involved two workshops held in Siem Reap on August 14th and 16th 2010 The first workshop was with high-level managers and officials and the second one was with community representatives and middle-level managers who were to be the implementers of the policies These workshops were organized under the patronage of the Deputy Prime Minister, President of the National Commission of Cambodia for UNESCO Once again, the workshops were presided over by the Minister of Tourism in partnership with and the support of the UNESCO office in Cambodia The workshops were designed and facilitated by the UQ team The objectives of these workshops were to: Validate the CLD for sustainable tourism that was developed during the training course Understand the interdependencies of the issues and challenges, and the role and responsibility of each stakeholder group Discuss and understand the implications for coordinated strategy Identify key leverage areas for interventions based on the CLD model The participants The second workshop was attended by more than 116 people representing seven different ministries (Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Urban and Land Planning, Education, Ministry of b2493_Case 7.indd 155 11/4/2016 4:40:47 PM Lack of community participations & benefit sharing R2 Safety & security (2) R1 Tourism facilities (2) (private investment) Poverty (2) B Funds for capacity building (3) Funds flight to overseas Tourism development Social ills (drugs, prostitution, begging, cheating etc.) Pressure on sanitation (2) ENVIRONMENT Government revenue Tourism revenue R3 Lack of public awareness (2) ECONOMIC FDI Tourism Growth R4 Corruption Social/Political norms Lack of waste management Developed infrastructure (3) Management plans Environmental degradation Intergrated policy/planning Coordinated policy (3) Pollution (2) Lack of sustainability indicators (e.g., carrying capacity) GOVERNANCE Lack of environmental protection Lack of urban planning 11/4/2016 4:40:50 PM Figure 39.    CLD model of sustainable tourism for Cambodia “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Quality services Lack of education (2) Lack of rules and regulations (3) Lack of law enforcement (3) 156  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems b2493_Case 7.indd 156 SOCIAL Lack of skilled labour “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  157 Water Resource and Meteorology, etc.), the Tonle Sap Authority, six provinces, community groups, the private sector, and NGOs As the model integrated social, economic, environmental, and governance dimensions (e.g., integrated planning, law enforcement, political norms) and their interconnections, the research team requested the host Ministry to invite key stakeholders who represented relevant government departments, community groups, NGOs, and provincial governments This resulted in the large number of delegates Such a large group of delegates posed a challenge to the facilitators in running an effective workshop, with discussions being translated into the local languages This was also a unique opportunity as assembling this number of diverse participants in a single event was rare and precious The participants were arranged into 10 groups The groups represented: Group 1: Ministry of Tourism and related institutions Groups 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7: Provincial governments Group 6: Ministry of Transport Group 8: Community representatives from six provinces Groups and 10: Private sector Creating shared understanding As can be imagined, creating a shared understanding of the issues amongst a group of this size and diversity was a complex task As discussed earlier, a CLD (systems) model is a powerful and practical visual tool to facilitate this task For this workshop the CLD model shown in Figure 39 was used as the focal point of discussion within the groups This model was developed by the research team using barriers and drivers that were identified in the community workshop in May 2009 Additionally, the model had received considerable input and discussion from the Ministry staff who took part in the training course during October and November 2009 The first part of the workshop was devoted to understanding and verifying of the model by the workshop delegates This step created a shared understanding of the issues and was completed without significant challenges or resistance to the model This consensus was reinforced by the facilitators who explained that the model was not intended to be complete b2493_Case 7.indd 157 11/4/2016 4:40:50 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 158  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems Table 5.    Leverage points/areas for Tonle Sap sustainable tourism Leverage areas Frequency Poverty alleviation Human resource development Education Service quality Rules and regulations Strategic plan (including eco-friendly solution for the floating village) or perfect, but should provide a big picture of interconnected issues and the areas that different stakeholder groups could influence Leverage areas Having reviewed and discussed the CLD model, the groups discussed the potential leverage areas A brief introduction to Systems Thinking was used to explain the concept of leverage and the difference between leverage points and quick fixes was emphasized Surprisingly, despite the cultural and language differences, the participants understood and endorsed the concept of leverage for transformative change The list of leverage areas identified by the stakeholders is shown in Table Four of the ten groups recognized poverty alleviation as the key leverage area for sustainable tourism This was followed by human resource development (two groups) Other leverage areas identified were education, service quality, rules and regulations, and the need for a strategic plan (1 group each) It is important to note that in the first workshop, the participants ranked poverty 7th along with six other barriers However, in the systems workshop, poverty alleviation was identified as the foremost leverage point for sustainable tourism The key difference between the two workshops was the use of the CLD model in the second workshop where the participants could see the cause-and-effect links between the barriers and drivers within the entire tourism system (Figure 39) This shift of mentalmodel is commonly observed in systems thinking workshops where decision makers have the opportunity to view a problem as a system of interconnected elements b2493_Case 7.indd 158 11/4/2016 4:40:50 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  159 Table 6.    Examples of intervention strategies for poverty alleviation in Tonle Sap Region Intervention strategy Actions/Projects/Program Project team Provide land — Provide concession land — Provide land for education — Government — Local authorities — Relevant ministries (e.g., Education; Land, Urbanization and Construction) Promote and strengthen the legal system — Improve law enforcement — Government — Local authorities Improve literacy skills — Literacy training — Skill training in sewing, hairdressing, sculpture, etc — Government — Local authorities — Ministry of Education Build community capacity based on people’s needs — Train the trainers workshops — Exchange programs — Study tours — Provincial governments — NGOs Improve standard of living — Provide loans to the communities to set up small businesses to support the fishing industry — Local government — Relevant ministries The participants were then asked to consult within their groups and devise intervention strategies and detailed action plans for implementation This resulted in ten implementation strategies for the six leverage areas Five examples of invention strategies for poverty alleviation are shown in Table Further Steps of the LLab At the conclusion of the systems workshop (Step of the LLab), the research team passed the management of the LLab to the host institution, the Ministry of Tourism, to conduct the further steps of the LLab (i.e., planning workshops, project selection, implementation, reflection meetings) This handover was anticipated at the outset of the project as by this stage it was expected that the Ministry staff had acquired sufficient knowledge, skills, and experience to manage the process This capacity building b2493_Case 7.indd 159 11/4/2016 4:40:50 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 160  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems amongst stakeholders was one of the key objectives of the Learning Lab; it enables the empowerment of local stakeholders and allows them to take ownership of and manage future projects In general, the management of the LLab could take a variety of forms For the Siem Reap LLab, a management committee was recommended, comprising representatives from relevant ministries, UNESCO, donor organizations, the private sector, and the local community The key role of the management committee was to oversee the overall operations of the LLab, namely, to arrange training courses, host reflection meetings, and to monitor and document progress Lessons and Conclusions The first step in any multi-stakeholder situation is to create a shared understanding of the problem amongst the participants This requires the use of a common language for the diverse participants to be able to communicate effectively and focus on the critical few problems rather than the trivial many The next crucial step is to create a ‘safe’ space for open and transparent group conversations without fear of judgement or losing ground This should facilitate and encourage full and frank participation of all stakeholders This case demonstrated the application of Systems Thinking to a complex multi-stakeholder national problem In the Siem Reap project, Causal Loop Diagrams were used to create a shared understanding of the issues and the identification of core problems CLDs allowed the participants to view the key drivers and barriers and their interconnections in a single picture The focus on the cause-effect interconnections facilitated convergence of the views and identification of leverage areas As a result, alleviation of poverty emerged as the foremost leverage area, selected as the top priority area by four of the ten stakeholder groups This caused the authorities to rethink their priorities to a focus on the poor and they even re-labelled the initiative “Pro-poor sustainable tourism” This was a major departure from their original approach to tourism growth as a set of isolated strategies propelled by investments in logistics and infrastructure b2493_Case 7.indd 160 11/4/2016 4:40:50 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation — the Siem Reap Project  161 This outcome was consistent with UNESCO’s vision for biosphere reserves According to the Director of Ecological and Earth Sciences at UNESCO: Each biosphere reserve could be a context-specific experiment in sustainable development at varying scales… The emphasis, over the next 5–10 years on biosphere reserves as learning laboratories for sustainable development provides interesting opportunities to track such changes in site-specific application of the principle and practices of sustainable development (p 118, emphasis added) Due to the dynamic nature of this approach, knowledge generated from relevant scientific research and monitoring and on-ground experience has an important role to play in informing management actions and policy decisions in response to uncertainty and continuous change… [Learning Labs could provide] a routine practice for testing the validity of assumptions made with regard to the relationships between conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the socio-economic development of communities and people at the local, regional and national levels (pp 129–130) What is envisaged are biosphere laboratories full of on-going experimentation used by national authorities and international policy constituencies… to generate insights and hopefully occasional successes for integrating specific conservation and development agendas (p 130)5 5  Ishwaran, N., Persic, A and Tri, N.H (2008) “Concept and practice: the case of UNESCO biosphere reserves”, Int J Environment and Sustainable Development, 7(2), 118–131 b2493_Case 7.indd 161 11/4/2016 4:40:50 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Appendix Initial CLD for Barriers to Sustainable Tourism b2493_Case 7.indd 162 11/4/2016 4:40:51 PM “6x9” b2493  Multi-Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases Index Ackoff, Russell, 7, 15–16, 16–17 Affinity Method, 29, 63–66, 73, 101–102, 152 Facilitator, role of, 8, 14, 29, 101 Forrester, Jay, 53 Behavior over time (BOT) graph, 53, 67 Bounded rationality, Buchanan, Richard, Global crises, 18, 21, 52 Group decision making, 59–61, 142 Group Model Building, 101–102 Group think, 7–8, 59–61, 67, 91, 103 Causal Loop Diagram, construction of, 31–34, 64, 67 Causal Loop Diagram, defined, 18, 28, 58 Causal relationship, 26–27, 34, 58, 71, 86 Change strategies, 11–12, 22, 68, 91, 108, 115, 141, 143 Collins, Jim, 9, 12–13 Complexity, 3, 16, 26, 71–72, 89, 114 Conceptual mapping, Human decision making, 4–6, 7, 8–13, 22, 58, 71, 116 Interdependency, 3, 26, 27 Intervention strategies, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 68–71, 141–142, 159 KJ methodology, see Affinity Method Knowledge, 16–17, 27, 91, 113–114, 115 KPIs, 9, 48, 68, 71 Dynamic complexity, 26, 114 163 b2493_Index.indd 163 11/4/2016 4:51:19 PM ... b2493  Multi- Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 6 ? ?Multi- Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems Authority and culture Culture and. .. b2493  Multi- Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 8 ? ?Multi- Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems self-interest in decision- making. .. b2493  Multi- Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems: A Systems Thinking Approach with Cases 18 ? ?Multi- Stakeholder Decision Making for Complex Problems 2.3  Systems versus Reductionist Approach